Les Romains sits on flint in the eastern reaches of Sancerre, close enough to the river that the soil could pass for Pouilly-Fumé. And the wine tastes like it, all smoke and struck stone. Vines past sixty years old, farmed biodynamically by cousins Jean-Laurent and Jean-Dominique Vacheron, give this a purity and definition that most Sauvignon Blanc never gets near: piquant grapefruit, delicate citrus, minerality that goes right through the mid-palate. This is what Sancerre tastes like when nobody's cutting corners.
Tasting Notes
Les Romains is a flint terroir located in the eastern part of Sancerre. Here the soils have a strong resemblance to the terroir across the Loire river in Pouilly-Fumé. There is a definite smoky and flinty quality to the wine that is backed with a piquant and delicate citrus fruitiness reminiscent of grapefruit.
Professional Ratings
96
James Suckling
94
Wine Enthusiast
94
Wine Advocate
92
Vinous
About the Producer
Domaine Vacheron is one of Sancerre’s elite properties, producing white and red Sancerre of amazing purity and definition. The Domaine has been completely transformed over to biodynamic farming (certified by Biodyvin in 2005) with two young cousins, Jean-Laurent and Jean-Dominique Vacheron, at the helm. No synthetic material is used in the vineyard, harvests are carried out exclusively by hand, and the only fertilizer used is produced from the compost pile. Yields are kept extremely low.
